Early retirements

Matt Cotellese's second stint with the Wild Things didn't last much longer than his first.

The former NCAA Division II All-American was placed on the retired list Monday because of recurring elbow discomfort. The outfielder from Boyertown and West Chester University played in only one game last summer before being released because of a strained elbow ligament.

Maybe it was the curse of the O-R that sidelined Cotellese. He was the subject of a feature story in today's edition.

Cotellese was one of two players retired by the Wild Things. The other was first baseman Paul Chmiel. During Thursday's intrasquad game, Chmiel probably did more to help his case for making the team than any other player. Chmiel went 2-for-3 including a home run off Zach Groh. Chmiel, who played in the Baltimore Orioles' system, told the Wild Things that he is getting married in October and no longer had the fire to play baseball.

Chmiel's retirement comes less than a week after the Wild Things traded first baseman Robbie Wine to another league. Washington has gone from having three first baseman a week ago to one (Adam Amar). Jacob Dempsey was playing first base during practice Monday.

The moves leave Washington with 34 players in camp.

Camp notes: Thursday

The Wild Things spent five hours on the field Thursday, which included a four-inning intrasquad game, but the only significant news out of camp was that left-handed pitcher Jason Neitz has been put on the 60-day disabled list because of an arm injury. Neitz had a 7-7 record and 5.61 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) last season.

Four pitchers (18 are in camp) were used in the instrasquad game. The pitching lines were:

Zach Groh 2 2/3-5-5-0-0-3
Tim Smith 3-3-1-1-1-4
Sean Grieve 1-2-1-1-0-1
Kurt Houck 1-2-2-1-0-0

Groh and Smith each threw two shutout innings until the hitters caught on a little the second time through the order. The five runs Groh allowed were unearned because of two errors in the inning that also featured three home runs. First baseman Paul Chmiel and second baseman Michael Parker back-to-back homers, and two batters later shortstop Denny Duron homered.

Smith gave up a two-run homer to shortstop Pat Kinney.

Parker went 2-for-3 with a double and home run.

Other than the home runs, the only things that stood out were three errors by infielders and the pitchers gave up only one walk.

Wild Things swing trade

Outfielder Phil Laurent, who helped the Wild Things climb back into the playoff race last July before suffering a season-ending knee injury, has been traded by Washington to the Normal CornBelters, the Frontier League's newest team.

In exchange for Laurent, who batted .335 with eight home runs in 49 games for the Wild Things, Washington receives the rights to first baseman Paul Chmiel and infielder Pat Kenny. Neither team announced the trade Monday but it was listed on the Frontier League's homepage.

Laurent suffered the season-ending injury in a play at home plate during a game at Florence in late July.

Chmiel (6-5, 200) was drafted in the 22nd round by the Baltimore Orioles in 2005 out of Mount Pocono High School. He spent four seasons in the O's system with his best year being 2006 when, as a 19-year-old, he batted .286 with 13 doubles in 44 games for the rookie-level Appalachian League. An Internet search revealed no statistics for Chmiel in 2009.

Kenny (6-4, 215) appears to be a former player at Madonna University, an NAIA school, and Saginaw Valley State, an NCAA Division II program. Both schools are located in Michigan. He played third base for Madonna.

With the addition of Chmiel, the Wild Things have acquired three first basemen in the last month. The others are Robbie Wine and Adam Amar.